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Center for Thomistic Studies Report 2011-2012

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Center for Thomistic Studies Report 2011-2012 Center for Thomistic Studies Report 2011-2012 § From the Director: “Every scholar whose learning is of the kingdom of heaven must be like a rich man who knows how to bring both old and new things out of his treasure house.” We, at the Center for Thomistic Studies, have followed this academic prescription this year, welcoming old friends, like Papal biographer and Center Advisory Board member George Weigel and Fr. Joseph Koterski, Fordham University as well as first-time visitors, like Dr. Matthew Levering, University of Dayton, who was this year’s Aquinas Lecturer, and Angela Bello, Professor Emeritus of History of Contemporary Philosophy at Lateran University in Rome and an expert on Edith Stein. We had two successful Ph.D. defenses and graduated four MAs, including our first BA/MA student. This year also marked the beginning of collaboration with the Pontifcal Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas and the planning for our joint conference in Houston for 18–19 October 2013 on the theme of Thomas Aquinas: Teacher of Humanity". The 1ST US conference of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas 18 - 19 October 2013 University of St. Thomas (Houston) Thomas Aquinas: Teacher of Humanity Co-sponsored by the Center for Thomistic Studies and The John Paul II Forum “Doctor Humanitatis is the name we give St. Thomas Aquinas because he was always ready to receive the values of all cultures. [H]is assertions on the dignity of the human person and the use of his reason, in perfect harmony with the faith, make St. Thomas a teacher for our time.” John Paul II, Address to the 8th International Thomistic Congress, 13 September 1980 Thomas Aquinas: Teacher of Humanity will explore the significance for the 21st century of Thomas Aquinas’ teaching on humanity. Is it still meaningful to talk about “humanity” or “inhumanity”? What challenges do evolution, eugenics and the trans-humanist movement present for a concept of “humanity”? Is the “human” a viable standard in a world with many cultures and traditions? This conference is a part of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas’s new initiative on the Thomistic legacy of Blessed John Paul II. The honor of hosting this unprece- dented event comes in recognition of the unique partnership between the Center for Thomistic Studies and the John Paul II Forum. We are honored that the Academy under its Secretary, Bishop Marcelo Sanches Sorondo, has chosen Houston’s University of St. Thomas as the site of its first U.S. conference. § 2012 Aquinas Lecture: Dr. Matthew Levering, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Dayton, delivered this year’s Aquinas Lecture on January 26 in Jones Hall. He spoke on the issue of whether or not we can know God by examining the created world. Can we know God’s existence and attributes by reflec- tion upon the good things that we see around us? If we can know God in this way, why do we also need to know him through his self-revelation in Jesus Christ? Put another way, is the God of the Greek phi- losophers the same God whom we encounter in Jesus, and if the God that we know in these two ways is indeed the same, can we make do with one way alone? Dr. Levering speculated on the idea that believ- ers in the incarnate Son of God have little stake in also holding that we can know God through natural reason, especially now that relatively few philosophers think that philosophical labors can attain to knowledge of the living God. Dr. Levering argued that Christians should hold that God’s existence, along with certain other attrib- utes, can be demonstrated by natural reason on the basis of material things. Dr. Ivany introduces Dr. Levering Michele Malloy, last year’s Aquinas Medal at dinner in Dr. Levering’s honor. recipient, discusses Dr. Levering’s lecture with him. § John Paul II Forum: The Center for Thomistic Studies continued its relation- ship with the John Paul II Forum, whose director, Dr. John Hittinger, is on the Center faculty. The Center co- sponsored a number of events with the Forum in 2011- 12. Particularly noteworthy was the visit of George Weigel on February 12. Mr. Weigel, the papal biographer of Pope John Paul II and Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, spoke on the topic, “Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI: Two Popes, One Mis- sion.” On June 13 the Center for Thomistic Studies and the John Paul II Forum also co-sponsored Fr. Joseph Koterski, S.J., Associate Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University and Editor-in-Chief of Inter- national Philosophical Quarterly who spoke to a receptive crowd on “Thinking with the Church: Les- sons from the Life of Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J.” The JPII Forum also sponsored a summer workshop on Veritatis Splendor led by Fr. Joseph Koterski. § Aquinas and the Arabs: The CTS was again active in the “Aquinas and the ‘Arabs’ International Working Group.” Dr. R. Edward Houser attended and read papers at the Fall 2011 Meeting hosted by Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City. He also attended the Spring 2012 Meeting, hosted by the CNRS and the Université de Paris 1: Pantheon Sorbonne. UST is scheduled to host the Fall Conference in 2013. § Center Colloquia: Under the care of Dr. Thomas Osborne, the Colloquia featured a mixture of students, Center Faculty, UST Faculty, and illustrious invited guests. Here is the line-up of speakers: August 25 Rev. Prof. Robert A. Gahl, Jr., Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, Italy spoke on “Contemporary psychology (3rd wave CBT/ACT/mindfulness) and its rela- tionship to Aristotelian-Thomistic moral psychology.” Sept. 1 Daniel De Haan, Graduate Student, Center for Thomistic Studies, UST spoke on "Dysordered Acquired Appetites and the Ratio of Addiction: A Thomistic Analysis.” Sept. 15 John F.X. Knasas, Philosophy Professor at the Center for Thomistic Studies, UST spoke on "Comments on Brian Davies, The Reality of God and the Problem of Evil.” Sept. 29 R. Edward Houser, Bishop Wendelin J. Nold Chair in Graduate Philosophy, Center for Thomistic Studies, UST spoke on “Is God’s existence self-evident?, In Sententiis 1.d.3.1.2.” Oct. 6 Domenic D’Ettore, Graduate Student, Center for Thomistic Studies, UST spoke on “The Concept Representing God and Creatures: An Analysis of John Capreolus’ Doc- trine of Analogy." Oct. 14 Alexander Pruss, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Baylor University spoke on "Evil and the Problem of Anomaly." Oct. 20 Steven Jensen, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the Center for Thomistic Studies, UST spoke on "Double Effect, Proportionality, and Allowing Harm." Nov. 11 Peter Casarella, Director, Center for World Catholicism & Intercultural Theology, DePaul University spoke on “Facing the Verbal Likeness: St. Augustine, Nicholas of Cusa, and Pope John Paul II on the Analogy of the Word.” Nov. 17 Theodore George, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Texas A&M University spoke on “Kindness toward What Is: Heidegger on Being, Art, and the 'Guiding Measure' of Conduct.” Nov. 22 Timothy Madigan, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at St. John Fisher College spoke on “W. K. Clifford and The Ethics of Belief .” March 29 Bruce Marshall, Lehman Professor of Christian Doctrine, Director, Graduate Program in Religious Studies Southern Methodist University spoke on “Is Nature a Barrier to Grace?: Aquinas, Scotus, and the Modern Debate about the Supernatural.” April 12 Carol Gardosik, Philosophy for Children Research Group, Graduate Student, Center for Thomistic Studies, UST spoke on “Socrates in the Schools: From Clackmannshire, Scotland to Huntsville,Texas.” April 18 Joseph Graham, Professor of Philosophy, UST spoke on “Science and Principles.” April 19 John F.X. Knasas, Professor of Philosophy, Center for Thomistic Studies, UST spoke on “The ‘Suppositio’ of Motion’s Eternity and the Interpretation of Aquinas’ Motion Proofs for God.” April 27 Dr. Luca Oliva, Visiting Professor, Salem State University spoke on “Fixing Kant's Epistemology.” § Endowed Chairs: Dr. R. Edward Houser is the current occupant of the Bishop Wendelin J. Nold Chair in Graduate Philosophy, named for the Most Reverend Wende- lin Nold (1900-1981), fifth bishop of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston (1950-1975), who, among his other accomplishments, ordered the integra- tion of Catholic schools in 1961. Dr. Houser was recently reappointed to the Chair. Dr. John Deely holds the Frank A. Rudman Chair in Philosophy at the Center for Thomistic Studies, which memorializes the contributions of Frank A. Rudman to Catholic education and the University of St. Tho- mas, where he served on the Board from 1953-59. Both these chairs were endowed through the generosity of the Scanlan Foundation. CENTER FACULTY § John Deely PhD 1967 Aquinas Institute School of Philosophy MA 1966 Aquinas Institute School of Philosophy BA 1965 Aquinas Institute School of Philosophy Publications: "The Semiosis of Mathematical Thought", forthcoming in Semiotics, Cognitive Science and Mathemat- ics, ed. Marcel Danesi et al. (Munich, Germany: Lincom Europa). "Updating the Classical Idea of 'Rational Animal' ," in the Proceedings of the World Congress of Catho- lic Universities, held 12-14 August 2011 at the University of Avila, Spain. "Semiotic Entanglement": The Concepts of Environment, Umwelt, and Lebenswelt in Semiotic Perspec- tive”, forthcoming in Semiotica (Berlin, Germany: Mouton de Gruyter). "Postmodernity as the unmasking of objectivity: Identifying the positive essence of postmodernity as a distinct new era in the history of philosophy", Semiotica 183-114 (2011), 31-57. "Taking Faith Seriously", Revue roumaine de philosophie, tome 55, issue 2 (December, 2011), 391–415. How Science Enriches Theology, co-authored with Fr. Benedict Ashley, O.P. (South Bend, IN: St. Augustine's Press, 2012). Semiotics Continues to Astonish. Thomas A.
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